The aim of this study was to analyse the role of differences in alcohol consumption and other risk factors for alcoholism established in late adolescence, for later differences in the distribution of alcoholism between social classes among young men. Data on risk factors in childhood and adolescence, e.g. risk use of alcohol, was collected among 49,323 men, born 1949-1951, at conscription for compulsory military training 1969/1970. Data on socio-economic group was obtained from the 1975 census and data on alcoholism diagnoses from the national in-patient care register 1976-1983. Several risk factors for alcoholism, such as risk use of alcohol, psychiatric diagnosis at conscription, parental divorce, low emotional control and contact with police and child care authorities, seemed to be more common among those who were recruited to blue-collar occupations compared to those who were recruited to non-manual occupations. In multivariate analyses, taking the background variables into consideration, the increased relative risks among manual workers for alcoholism diagnoses, found in univariate analyses, diminished considerably. Several risk factors had a stronger effect on the outcome among unskilled workers compared with non-manual employees at medium or higher degree. It is concluded that risk factors for poor health established in late adolescence could explain much of the increased relative risk of alcoholism among young unskilled and skilled male workers in this study.